16 Instant Pot Side Dishes to Complete Your Meal

Do you want to make dinner really simple? We know how busy you get during the week with work, running errands, school, and the kids’ activities, so simplifying dinner is a must. Why not grab a rotisserie chicken to make one of these no-cook meals, and get your sides done quickly in the pressure cooker. These Instant Pot side dishes are ready in minutes, so you can have dinner on the table in a flash.

Easy & Quick Instant Pot Side Dishes

I love my Instant Pot! If you are unfamiliar with this cooking appliance, it is an incredible pressure cooker and more. It serves as a pressure cooker, slow cooker, steamer, yogurt maker, and much more. Here are just a few easy recipes you can make in your instant pot.

If you have a favorite crock pot side dish that you want to convert to a faster cooking instant pot, check out this printable instant pot slow cooker conversion guide.

1. Bake Sweet Potatoes in Instant Pot

The Instant Pot is perfect for baking sweet potatoes as a side or to be used in a casserole or pie. If you need to make several at once, this trick can really save the day.

Grab two or three medium-sized sweet potatoes, clean them and place them in a steaming basket. Put all this inside your instant pot or any other pressure cooker with some water and let steam for ten minutes at the most. You’ll get the most tender sweet potatoes for your casserole

2. Instant Pot Potato Salad

When barbecue and picnic season arrives again, you’ll be all set with a go-to dish that you can make in a flash: quick potato salad! Cooking the eggs nestled between the potatoes yields perfect eggs every time.

Peel and dice your potatoes, place them in a steamer basket with some raw eggs on top, add some water to your instant pot and lower the basket in, set the time to four minutes, and voila!!

It happens so fast you’ll barely have time to prepare your potato salad dressing. Mix everything together and you are winning chef of the year in your family.

3. Spaghetti Squash Quick in Instant Pot

If you love spaghetti squash but can’t seem to get the texture quite right, you may find that the Instant Pot cooks it to perfection. Add your favorite sauce and toppings, and you’re ready to enjoy your noodle-y veggies.

Wash and halve a squash, scoop out the seeds from both halves. Place the halves inside a steamer basket facing, either way, put in a pressure cooker with some water for four minutes. After releasing the pressure, check the readiness of your squash using a fork.

If ready, use a fork to shred off the strands of the squash and you have a nice substitute to the past you are so used to.

4. Instant Pot Broccoli And Cheddar Pasta

This Broccoli and Cheddar Pasta will become your new favorite side dish. Toss some grilled chicken on top, and you have a complete meal.

It’s as easy as tossing a handful of frozen pasta in the instant pot for 4 minutes and you are done. Toss in some choice veggies like broccoli with the pasta to ensure the kids get some greens into their tummies.

5. Low Carb Instant Pot Side Dishes: Cauliflower Rice

If you’re on low carbs, try Cauliflower Rice in the Instant Pot to satisfy your craving for starches.

Cauliflower rice is not easy to get exactly right, follow this simple recipe and you’ll have given it a good shot;

Grab a medium to large-sized cauliflower and wash it.
Cut the leaves off. Big chunks are fine.
Arrange cauliflower in the steamer insert of your Instant Pot (or any pressure cooker).
Pour one cup of water under the cauliflower and steamer basket.
Lock the lid in place with the valve closed.
Set on Manual to one minute.
After the minute cook-time, open the valve and let the steam quick release.
Lift the cauliflower out – right on the steamer insert if you can.
et the cooked cauliflower aside and pour out the water from the Instant Pot.
Push the cancel button, and then turn to “Saute.” Pour in a tablespoon or two of oil.
Add the cauliflower back in and break up with a potato masher tool.
Add desired spices and stir around in the hot oil.

6. Refried Beans Made Easy in Instant Pot

Refried Beans are a cheap, hearty dish that you can add to fajitas, tacos, soups, casseroles, and more. Remember to soak your beans beforehand with several changes of water to reduce the gassiness that comes with eating beans.

7. Insta Pot Sweet And Orangy Brussel Sprouts

These Sweet and Orangey Brussels Sprouts are a delicious side dish for a holiday meal.

Steam the Brussel sprouts to your level of preferred hardness, drain the water and remove the Brussel sprouts from the pot. Pour in a cup of fresh-squeezed orange juice and a few spoonfuls of orange zest, stir well in earth balance and maple syrup over low heat and add in your steamed petite cabbages.

8. One Of The Best Instant Pot Side Dishes: Roasted Potatoes

Add some oil and your favorite herbs to make Roasted Potatoes in your Instant Pot.

Slice the potatoes into wedges
Plugin your Instant Pot and press “Saute”
Add in the cooking fat and allow it to heat up
Carefully add in the potatoes and cook them for 5-8 minutes, shifting them as they cook
Sprinkle the seasonings, pour in the broth, and press the “Cancel/Off” button
Secure the lid, close off the pressure valve, and press the “Manual” button
Press the “-” button until your time display reads 7 minutes
Allow them to cook and then quick release the steam once completed
Let the steam exit completely and then remove the lid
Season with a bit of extra sea salt if needed

9. Butternut Squash Risotto Made in Instant Pot

Hands off Butternut Squash Risotto in just 15 minutes? Sign me up!

10. Did You Know Mac ‘n’ Cheese Can Be Instant Pot Side Dishes?

My favorite side dish has always been mac and cheese. Doesn’t this recipe look delish? Love that she adds a bit of heat with the hot sauce to bring some depth to the dish.

Steam the pasta with your preferred spices for 4 minutes, drain excess water and melt the cheese into the pasta and you are done!!

11. Instant Pot Cabbage with Turkey Sausage

Serve cabbage with turkey sausage as a main dish or a side dish.

Brown some sausages and onions in the pot, add in cabbages and sautee to your taste.

12. Instant Pot Tender Black Beans

Forget soaking beans. You can make perfectly tender black beans in the pressure cooker in under an hour.

In this recipe, I start with a little bit of chorizo, which I sauté in oil until it starts to crisp up and render its fat. (You can very easily use any other firm, cured sausage—andouille, kielbasa, or pepperoni would all be delicious.) I then add the dried beans and the rest of the aromatics, and I don’t even bother sweating or sautéing them first: I’m that lazy. An onion split in half, some whole cloves of garlic, an orange split in half, and some bay leaves. Cover the whole thing with chicken stock, season it with salt then cook at high pressure for about 40 minutes. That’s it.

13. Steamed Corn On The Cob in the Instant Pot!

If you love corn on the cob, you’ll love steaming it in the Instant Pot. Nothing could be simpler or faster when it comes to corn on the cob!!

Check out the ideas above on how to make instant pot side dishes to go with the corn

14. Instapot Baked beans

Nothing pairs as well with BBQ as baked beans. Make them in your pressure cooker… comfort food fast!

Soak beans in cool water for at least 8 hours.
With the lid off of the Instant Pot, add bacon and turn on the sauté function. Cook bacon for 2-3 minutes, until browned. Remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving the fat of the bacon in the pot. Add onions and cook until soft.
Turn off the sauté function, and add in chicken stock stirring up the brown bits from the bacon with a wooden spoon.
Mix in all remaining ingredients, then add in soaked navy beans. Liquid level should just cover the top of the beans, add more if needed. Leave out cooked bacon pieces
Set the lid, selecting the bean function, increase time to 40 mins, and cook beans. Once the cycle is finished, release the lid and stir in bacon.
Reseal the lid, and cook for an additional 10-20 minutes depending on the liquid remaining.
Once the final cycle is complete, set immediately or use the keep-warm function.

15. Spanish rice Cooked in Instant Pot

Make Easy Spanish Rice go with your refried beans (see above) and other favorite dishes. This dish is as easy as good ol’ plain rice to make but waaaay tastier. Why settle for plain rice when you can bring Mexico closer home?

16. Quickest Instant Pot Side Dishes – Quinoa

Quinoa is definitely a food that all of us should make more of. It’s so good for you, and so versatile! The best part is, you can make it in the Instant Pot in just one minute. Wow!

Want to learn more about our favorite Instant Pot? Click the link below for our review! Or you can just go straight to Amazon and read about it over there.